The Honourable Path
by ColossalSpaz
Summary: Theron the Hero of Ferelden; Solona, Guardian of the Circle; and Anaeis, the Bone Wyrm. They all had an origin, and it was thoroughly intertwined with that of King Cousland and the Champion of Kirkwall. Yet not even the Dragon Witch herself could've foreseen just how big an impact they would make in all of Thedas. Multiple Origins, Somewhat AU, OC Warning, Pairings inside.
1. Origins

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Dragon Age or any other content that you might recognize, even the images. This disclaimer applies to the whole story.

**Rating: **M just in case

**Beta/Co-writer:** Divider

**Pairings:**

Morrigan/Aedan Cousland/Anora Mac Tir

Theron Mahariel/Bethany

Zevran/Isabella

Fenris/Solona Amell

Alistair/Leliana

Anaeis Ataraxis (oc)/Isaac Hawke

Varric/Bianca

**Author's Note: **This story will be written entirely on third person and will span from Dragon Age Origins to even further than Dragon Age II. As you can probably tell from the pairings, the romance will be slow but I hope to develop it well and make the relationships more meaningful than they would be if they just hooked up right away. The main characters will be Theron Mahariel (Male Dalish Elf Origin), Solona Amell (Female Human Mage Origin), and my version of a Female City Elf Apostate: Anaeis Ataraxis. It _will _differ greatly from cannon at times, and I plan to create my own version of Dragon Age III; even after inquisition comes out. A link to images for this story can be found on my profile so, you know, check it out sometime.

That said, enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 1:** Origins

_9:26 Dragon_

_Denerim Alienage_

Her family had always been proud. They'd always been resentful of the humiliation that _shemlens _put them through. They still held on to the memories long past of the once dominant status of the elven race; so when they'd found out that their firstborn daughter had been gifted with magical talent, they saw it as a chance for change.

No longer were they powerless. They'd joined a cult of maleficarum, rooted deep within the confines of the city, and set forth down the path to make their daughter a beacon of hope. The girl, Anaeis, found nothing wrong with the use of her crimson life force as a source of power. It was natural to her, and it made her proud to be useful to her parents' cause. She knew many people sent their children off to the Circle of Magi, and she was grateful to not be included in that category.

Yet as she ran and ran away from the blazing building at the tender age of fourteen, she couldn't help but wonder if she would've lived a longer life in the Circle.

It wasn't long before she ran out of breath, giving the chasing Templar a clear shot at her small body. Nobody would mourn her death; her parents had already been slain as they sought to deliver a crippling blow to the Templars when they'd barged in on their meeting. All the blood mages had perished during the fight as well, taking down as many Templars as they could. That was the way it'd always been for mages.

That would not be the case for her.

She refused to cower, to bend to the will of her oppressors. She was powerful; this was what she'd been training for since she first showed signs of her gift, she wouldn't allow a lyrium addicted bigot to belittle her accomplishments. So, in a last attempt of survival, she slit her wrists and invited the demons to her.

'_Help!'_

Her magic was a gift.

'_Somebody!'_

Her blood was her own.

'_Anybody!'_

But she was oh so tired…

'…_anything.'_

"**You asked, and so you shall receive."**

* * *

_9:26 Dragon_

_The Brecilian Forest_

"I am sorry that I brought you back here my Dalish friend." apologized a dark skinned man clad in silvery armor.

"Don't be." answered a much younger man as he aimed both of his crossbows at a target, "It motivates me to kill the damned darkspawn."

"You certainly have no lack of that." the man chuckled, "You've made quite a lot of progress with those crossbows of yours Theron, though I still don't see how you manage to use both at the same time."

"It all comes down to practice Duncan," said Theron as he aimed another shot, "And I've got plenty of that here." he finished as he shot an arrow between a darkspawn's eyes.

The camp immediately went into alert. They'd finally found their mark.

Various men and women of all races and classes clad in the notorious Grey Warden armor then charged at the newly spotted darkspawn as was their duty. Swords clashed, spells were cast, and bows were fired; yet the darkspawn kept on pouring out of the woods, intent on eradicating their enemy.

"Duncan! We're being overwhelmed from the east!" called a grey warden.

"Where are the wardens that were stationed there?" asked Duncan as he cut through a genlock.

"They are either wounded or dead," answered the warden while holding his own against a hurlock, "There are more darkspawn than we expected, and they seem to have started a formation of some sort to take us out."

"Don't worry about that area Duncan." said Theron, "I've got it covered."

The Dalish elf then threw numerous caltrops at the enemy, effectively slowing them down while he made his way past them. He made his way to the eastern area of the camp, easily spotting the mounting cluster of darkspawn gathering to surround the remaining wardens. He wasted no time though, quickly making his way from tree to tree, planting wire mechanisms on their sides. He gave a bloodthirsty grin, and then moved.

The first two darkspawn fell almost immediately. Theron's accuracy with his crossbows was unmatched; anything short of a clean kill was either on purpose or a heresy to his genius. He flipped through the air, firing rapidly and dropping the darkspawn like flies as they ran into his traps. The razorwire was a particularly nasty invention of his; it consisted of women's hair, hardened through soaking in a mixture he made from several herbs native to the Brecilian forest. The 'wires' were as strong as steel and cut through bone easily, but were dangerous to handle for the same reason.

Two of the nearby wardens paused long enough to shiver at the look on Theron's face and wisely backed away from the horde he had occupied. The other three were warned off by the fact that his bolts flew dangerously close to their faces, and decided they could just as easily be useful on the other side of camp.

The darkspawn were being led around by Theron easily; there was no contest. In the forest, it was less a matter of skill and more a matter of Theron knowing it like the back of his hand. His traps were decimating the darkspawn, and he easily disappeared into the brush only to reappear in a frenzy of crossbow-fire.

Even so, Theron figured he would need something a little bigger to handle a group as big as this. There were seven hurlocks left of the original twenty, but there were twelve gemlocks appearing to reinforce them. He threw down another hail of caltrops and sprinted back to Duncan.

"Cover me, I've got something to end this." he said, then knelt behind him.

Duncan complied with a battle cry as he decapitated a Hurlock Vanguard. The other five wardens were still occupied with the hurlocks. Theron worked quickly, burying his trap into the soil and priming it.

"DUNCAN, MOVE!"

Duncan hastily disengaged the gemlocks and ran to the nearby wardens. Theron somersaulted back into the trees. The gemlocks gave a cry of triumph at their supposed victory and moved forward.

The last thing they saw was a very bright orange.

Theron stepped out from behind his tree and surveyed the wreckage of the camp. "Maybe add less blackpowder next time."

"And perhaps you shouldn't use your explosives in the middle of our camp." Duncan said dryly.

Theron just grinned.

* * *

_9:30 Dragon_

_Ferelden Circle of Magi_

"I'm disappointed in you," lamented a robed man, "You could have told me what you knew of this plan and you didn't."

"I am sorry Irving," apologized a brunette, "I had no idea he was a blood mage, yet I don't think I could've found it in me to betray a friend either way."

"You've made a mockery of this circle!" accused a man clad in Templar armor, "You've helped a blood mage escape and with his phylactery no less! Your punishment shall not be lenient."

"Calm yourself Greagoir." said an armored figure as it approached the trio, "She has shown great courage and skill to have breached your security measures."

"This does not concern you warden." stated Greagoir, "You've got your mages already."

"On the contrary," replied the warden with a smile barely visible within his hooded face, "I find that the wardens are always in need of new recruits."

"You don't mean…" gasped Irving.

"Don't you dare Theron! She will not be gifted freedom after her betrayal!" shouted Greagoir.

"What is your name?" Theron asked the female mage.

"Solona…Solona Amell." she answered warily.

"Do you wish to join the Grey Wardens?" he continued neutrally, with no pressure in his words.

"Stop this!" commanded Greagoir.

"…yes"

That was all the warden needed to hear. "As second in command of the Grey Wardens stationed in Ferelden, I hereby invoke the right of conscription on Solona Amell."


	2. Ostagar

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews! Thanks for telling me about the picture** Mike3207**, I uploaded a better picture of Cousland to avoid confusion.

**Chapter 2:** Ostagar

**Anaeis **

_9:26 Dragon_

_Denerim Alienage_

Blood.

Everything was covered in blood. Her hands, her clothes, her face…there was nothing left unmarked.

She'd expected to be dead; yet here she was, standing before the dead Templar. She wasn't sure of what had happened to her, having blacked out for a while. Yet she couldn't bring herself to care, he was dead now. He lay on the ground where he belonged, just as she stood high above him as she should.

It was a dog's duty to bow before its' master after all.

She felt a power course through her veins. An exhilarating power, something only she could be worthy of. Why stop there? Why not kill every one of the swine that dared to think her powerless? Nobody would expect a fourteen year-old elf apostate to have killed a fully grown Templar after all…no, she wasn't like that. Unnecessary bloodshed was just that, unnecessary. She wasn't about to become like them, using a 'noble' cause to justify genocide and oppression.

She was better than them,

She was better than them,

She was better than them…

They were beneath her.

* * *

_9:30 Dragon _

_Ostagar_

The robed woman had been walking for a while now. Her dainty nose wrinkled at the stench of the area, Darkspawn really needed to learn to clean up after themselves.

Then again that was why she was here. The foolish Grey Wardens had been slain during battle, betrayed by their own kin. 'twas a shame really, she'd taken quite a liking to some of the ones that had visited Flemeth's hut some days ago. It couldn't be helped though, 'twas the way the world turned; at least two of the three had survived. Pity the mage girl hadn't, she'd noticed some potential in her.

The wind shifted again, its' sound deafening in the absolute silence of a lost battle's aftermath. Her dark blue and bronze robes fluttered in the wind, as did her snow white hair.

Her reflections were cut short however, as she heard a commotion from deep within the area. Feeling rather curious at that moment, she decided to draw her staff from her back as she made her way to the source. The sight that met her eyes as she watched from afar was rather interesting. She could recognize the mage girl from the other day, barely standing her ground as she kept up a barrier to protect herself as well as a male-probably a Grey Warden-from a trio of hurlocks.

The girl looked rather tired, as well as hopeless. She supposed the girl had started healing the man after stumbling upon him, only to be spotted after a while by the darkspawn due to her carelessness. The white-haired witch decided to aid her, if only because darkspawn were truly disgusting and low creatures. No mage would bring shame to her by being slain by such things.

She stepped forward then, not even bothering to use stealth. The darkspawn were too preoccupied with the task of destroying the girl's barrier to pay any attention to her. She'd have to instill some manners in them. No one ignored her, especially not darkspawn. She cast a flame blast on them, catching all three as they prepared for the final blow. They shrieked in pain, immediately flailing their arms around, only succeeding in making their smell of rotting flesh worsen to that of burning flesh.

She wasn't done though. She sent a stone fist fight through one's face, ripping its' entire head off its' neck with a sickening sound. She smiled at that as she readied a bolt of lightning on one of her hands, shooting it through the second one's stomach. Darkspawn apparently either didn't know fear or were rather stupid, she was leaning more towards the latter when the third one charged at her, straight through the flaming tip of her staff. Darkspawn never did prove to be a challenge for her; they were beneath her, as most things proved to be nowadays.

"Th-thank you." spoke the mage girl as her barrier gave out.

"At least you possess some sort of manners." replied the white-haired witch as she started walking towards her to assess the-upon closer inspection- elf's damage, "His wound is too deep, we will need to take him to the old hag's home in order to heal him."

"You will help us?" asked the girl, "Why?"

"Who knows? Boredom, perhaps, there is certainly always a sense of adventure when one is in the company of Wardens." The witch mused. "Now, how to carry your companion here? No doubt, he's heavy in that armor of his."

At this, the warden briefly opened his eyes. "Kyne, my mount, is a few minutes east of us. He can carry me."

"Ah, so you are awake, Warden. I shall go fetch your mount then. Try not to bleed out- I despise funerals."

The warden managed to give a dry laugh. "I shan't inconvenience you then."

A few minutes later, she was back with the halla in tow.

"Interesting choice of mount. I suppose I shall have to change to keep pace."

With that, she shifted. Her form shrunk, and feathers began appearing on her. Where the witch once stood a raven took her place.

"…a shape shifter!?" exclaimed the girl, "That is amazing! I thought they were a myth!"

'More on that later.' chuckled the witch as she spoke from inside the girl's head, causing her to gasp, 'Now, I need you to place your friend and yourself on his mount so that we may start our journey. '

"R-right!" said the girl, a bit shaken from hearing a voice inside her head; the circle was always warning mages about the dangers of demons.

It took the girl some time, but she was eventually able to lift the wounded elf carefully onto the halla, getting on herself right afterwards. They started moving right away, with the witch leading and keeping a watch for approaching darkspawn.

"I almost forgot!" said the girl, "My name is Solona Amell and my friend here is Theron Mahariel, what is your name?"

"Pride"

* * *

_9:26 Dragon_

_Korcari Wilds_

News of the brutally slain Templar spread like wildfire. It was no longer safe for her to stay in the city, especially with the increased number of Templars incited by her actions. So she decided to get as far away from the place as possible, it wasn't like the alienage was much better than sleeping on the streets.

She lived by the road during that time, and kept herself alive by killing bandits with her strengthened magic. Her destination was the Korcari Wilds; nobody would be foolish enough to approach her there.

The forest was deep and dark, filled with many poisonous plants as well as venomous crawlers. But that wasn't what had intrigued her about the place, it was the hut located near the center of it. She could feel the magic pouring out of it. It was firm and controlled, yet free and boundless. It was exactly the kind of magic that she had craved since infancy, the kind that could bring the world to its' knees.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" wondered an old woman as she approached her from behind.

Anaeis tried to suppress her jump, "A traveler."

"Though not just any traveler." stated the woman, "You seek something, something which only I can provide you."

"What is that?" questioned Anaeis.

"Who knows?" said the woman, filled with mirth, "I'm just a rambling old woman."

Anaeis grunted at that, the woman seemed to be playing some sort of game with her. Where she anyone else she would've killed her where she stood, but she had felt the power pouring out of the old hag; and oh was it mouth-watering.

"Who are you?" Anaeis asked.

"I have gone by many names, most of which I car not to relay. But you may refer to me as Flemeth." responded the old woman, "Now tell me, who are _you_?"

"My name is…Pride." said Anaeis.

"Haha! Surely that is not your real name." commented Flemeth, "But I like it, it certainly is fitting."

Anaeis stiffened as that.

"Oh, yes. I know all about your little roommate." Flemeth smirked.

"How? Is it because of your power?" asked the girl, eager for an answer.

"Perhaps." mused Flemeth, "You also happen to resemble me during my youth, though I have long since won the battle with my demon."

"Will you teach me?" Anaeis asked in all seriousness.

"From time to time." answered the woman, "My daughter can also teach you, though you will have to make yourself useful. I despise freeloaders."

"Very well Flemeth." agreed the girl, "Our deal stands."

And so another Witch of the Wilds joined the Korcari coven, ready to become the Dragon Witch's apprentice.


	3. Lothering

**A/N: **Changed the pairings so that Theron is paired with Bethany and Alistair is paired with Leliana. No idea why, my co-writer and I just found ourselves liking these pairings more than the originals we had.

**Pairings:**

Morrigan/Aedan Cousland/Anora Mac Tir

Theron Mahariel/Bethany Hawke

Zevran/Isabella

Fenris/Solona Amell

Alistair/Leliana

Anaeis Ataraxis (oc)/Isaac Hawke

Varric/Bianca

**Chapter 3: **Lothering

* * *

**Theron**

* * *

_9:30 Dragon_

_Korcari Wilds_

He awoke a few hours later, feeling completely refreshed. It was hard to imagine that just a few moments ago he had been on the verge of death. Too bad he couldn't say the same for his fellow Grey Wardens. At least Solona lived, but he still couldn't shake the fact that Duncan and Cousland were dead; hell he even missed Alistair.

"Theron! How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?" asked Solona as she hastily made her way from her spot near the lit fireplace to the bed where Theron lay. He found her kindness comforting, true he was a sarcastic bastard most of the time and he had an unhealthy obsession with killing darkspawn but he still needed to be reminded of the other things the Grey Wardens protected from the creatures. He'd been pleasantly surprised that the girl hadn't been deterred from pursuing a friendship with him despite their differences in personality, though it did help that he was somewhat her mentor due to her recent recruitment.

"I'm alright, I feel as good as new." he responded as he surveyed the room.

It wasn't very spacious but it showed clear signs of having been used. There were piles of tattered books on some of the corners of the small room as well as some makeshift shelves stocked with all sorts of herbs and containers. He guessed that, at least at some point, there'd been two people who resided in the room-if the second bed was anything to go by. He supposed then that they were inside of the hut where the Witches of the Wilds lived; he did remember that elven mage rescuing them from the darkspawn.

He paused his musings as he spotted said mage sitting in front of the fireplace on a wooden chair. She looked young, younger than his twenty-three years of age, and seemed to be thoroughly occupied with the task of cooking some food over the fire, effectively making his mouth water and his stomach grumble as the aroma reached his nose.

The elven witch got up then, and approached him with a bowl of broth.

"Who are you?" he asked as he took the bowl when she handed it to him.

"You may refer to me as Pride." she stated, "I would suggest you start your journey to Lothering as soon as you're done eating; you should be able to catch up to your fellow wardens fairly quickly with that halla of yours."

He perked up at this, "There were survivors!? But I saw hundreds of warriors fall during the battle!"

"Alistair and Aedan survived." Solona said brightly, "Flemeth rescued them from the tower of Ishal."

He looked confused at this, "Asha'bellanar?"

"The one and only, though I'm often referred to as the 'old hag'" answered the witch herself as she made her way inside the room. Her appearance wasn't at all like the legends told, instead of a powerful sorceress ready to take down the world Theron was faced with a withering old woman; she looked ready to pass away any day now and the ragged clothes and limp on her step didn't make her look any better. He knew better than to judge her power based on appearance though; nothing in Thedas was ever so simple.

"That look in your eye will get you places boy," she commented as she took a seat on the chair previously occupied by Pride, "The other warden seemed to be the same way, not the chatty one though."

He cracked a smile at that, "Alistair never did make a good first impression."

Pride and Solona took that time to take the seat on the bed next to his, with Pride cracking open a dog-eared book as he continued his conversation with Flemeth.

"Or a second." Flemeth chuckled, "But enough about that. I sent my daughter, Morrigan, alongside your friends to Lothering. Last I heard they were planning to use the Grey Warden treaties in order to create an army to end the Blight and defeat Loghain."

"…so he did betray us." he ground out with clenched fists.

"Have you not told him anything girl!?" chided the elder witch as she looked at Pride.

"It would have been too much of a bother; you have more patience than I" was Pride's reply as she flipped to the next page of her book.

"Loghain chose to retreat from the battlefield rather than to come to our aid." said a saddened Solona, "I think that was his plan all along."

"Damn bastard!" exclaimed Theron as he rose from his seat, "King Cailan put too much trust in him!"

"Calm yourself boy," ordered Flemeth, "Do not lose yourself to petty feelings of anger, right now is when the world needs your kind the most."

"They've given us some supplies to get started," soothed Solona, "Kyne is waiting for us outside; all we are waiting for now is your word."

Theron rose at that, taking the bowl of broth and gulping it down in a single motion. He began to gather his armor and weapons, with Solona following suit; leaving Flemeth and Pride to watch on in amusement.

* * *

They'd left the hut right away, not without a quick thanks to the witches of course. Theron already knew his way to Lothering due to his trips to the village during his station at Ostagar, but Pride's advice of shortcuts that they could take in order to avoid large groups of darkspawn was helpful nonetheless. Flemeth had even given them a bag containing something for the beasts to smell rather than their Grey Warden scent, which she cautioned them not to open and to toss away as soon as they reached their destination.

"We should catch up to the others fairly quickly." said Solona as she tried to keep from falling off of the halla, "Pride said that they'd left early in the morning."

"At least it's not that long of a journey." muttered Theron, "By the way, whatever happened to your robes?"

"Uhh, Pride said that my robes were too impractical and would make me stand out like a sore thumb during our travels" she blushed as she remembered that she was now clad in a pair of trousers and a long-sleeved white shirt under a brown-leather vest, "We couldn't do anything about my staff though."

"It won't stand out that much anyways, not when you are going to be standing next to a Dalish elf and his halla." he grinned.

She chuckled at that, "Of course not."

"I was curious though," he started, "Why was an elven woman with Flemeth? I did not peg Flemeth for the kind of woman to take a stray in."

"Pride would scoff at you for that," she smiled, "She is…prideful, though not entirely in a bad way seeing as she saved us. She told me that they are not related at all, but that was as much information as she was willing to part with."

They continued on in a peaceful silence, stopping only when they heard the clash of swords.

"Theron…could that be the others?" asked Solona.

"We'll have to take a look." he said as he motioned for Kyne to change course.

They came upon a battle between what appeared to be the party they were chasing- two warriors, a scantily clad mage, and their pet dog-and twelve hurlocks. They were holding up well, Theron noted. Alistair was locked in combat with three of them, and was easily holding his own against the hurlocks' wild swings. Their numbers were clearly irritating him though, judging by the numerous curses he was muttering. The mage- was her name Morty, or Mary?- was using some nasty looking ice spells to wreak havoc on the four hurlocks approaching her. It was the last two that really impressed Theron however.

The other warrior had his helm up, making it difficult for Theron to identify him. However, his skill with a sword and shield narrowed it down to a handful. He was striking rapidly with both sword and shield, and blocking with both interchangeably. The three hurlocks attacking him were clearly frustrated with his tactics, and were injured badly. The dog was working very well with him, guarding him from the two hurlocks behind him in a frenzy of claws and teeth.

It was not the warriors' skill that impressed Theron, nor his dog. It was the seamless teamwork they displayed, and the warrior's talent with his chosen weapons. Theron had seen more skilled wielders of the sword and shield, but if the warrior was a recruit, it meant his talent would only shoot upwards from here. In addition, the unrefined style he used helped Theron narrow down the list of wardens he could be.

Theron decided he had spent enough time gawking at the fight. "Kyne, scatter. Solona, support Alistair." he said curtly.

Kyne galloped away a short distance on his command. Solona nodded, then sent a fist of stone towards her target. One of the hurlocks' spine shattered with an audible _crunch_, and the party turned to glance at the new arrivals. Alistair's remaining targets seized the opportunity and knocked him flat on his back.

"Alistair!" the unnamed warrior cried.

Theron, however, wasted no time with words. Two knives flew through the air and sank into the hurlocks' throats. Alistair gave a sigh of relief, and picked himself up, only to be smacked upside the head with a crossbow.

"Focus on your targets, idiot!" Theron yelled, and then threw himself into the fray, Solana not far behind.

Theron rained a hail of bolts on the two attacking the dog, dropping them in seconds. Solona narrowed her eyes in concentration, and then roasted the hurlocks attacking the mage with a cone of fire.

With their allies down, the last three hurlocks were pathetic competition. Two more went down to Theron's bolts, while the last was decapitated by the warrior.

Alistair made his way to the two wardens as soon as the last body hit the ground, "Theron! Solona! Did anyone else make it?"

"No. Who's your friend? I'm assuming the mage is Morty." asked Theron.

Said mage fumed while Alistair laughed his ass off.

"That's Flemeth's daughter, Morrigan." Solona whispered discretely.

"Oh, that's right! You're the one that Pride mentioned." he nodded to himself.

"And I'm Aedan Cousland, one of the new recruits." said the warrior, following up by shaking their hands.

"Ah! That's right; I just couldn't put a face to the name." Theron explained, "Sorry about that by the way, Martha."

"It's Morrigan you dunce!" shouted the witch.

"I'm never going to get tired of this." chuckled Alistair while wiping a tear of laughter off his eye.

Solona sighed at her senior's antics, "He's never going to call her by name, even when he actually learns it."

"Learned that the hard way?" asked Aedan.

"Let's just say that the trip from Lake Calenhad to Ostagar was a long one." she shook her head.

* * *

"I spy, with my little eye…something green!" exclaimed Alistair.

"Gee, I wonder what that could be." Morrigan muttered sarcastically, "It's not like we're near a forest or anything."

"I see Lothering!" called Aedan from his spot at the front of the group.

"That's great, Kyne was getting a little thirsty." mentioned Theron.

"Aww, that's not fair." Alistair complained, "We were getting to the good part of the game."

"Next time Alistair." smiled Solona.

"Oh, yes. I'm sure there's plenty of color in Lothering." Morrigan smiled evilly, knowing of the town's love of brown.

They spotted a group of men ahead blocking the main entrance to the town. That immediately set them on alert, along with Theron's signal to ready their weapons.

One of them, presumably the leader, got up as he spotted them, "Wake up gentlemen! More travelers to attend to, I guess the pretty one is the leader."

"Well thank you for noticing." said Theron, "I did get a haircut a few days ago."

"I meant the blonde." said the man in an annoyed tone.

Solona seemed uncomfortable at that, "Umm…thanks?"

"Uh, they don't look much like them others." spoke one of the other men, "Maybe we should let these ones pass."

"Nonsense!" the leader exclaimed, "Greetings travelers!"

"Highwaymen, preying on those fleeing the darkspawn I suppose." said Alistair.

"They are fools to get in our way; I say we teach them a lesson." commented Morrigan.

"Now is that any way to treat someone?" chided the leader, "A simple ten silver and you're free to go."

"Wait a second!" said Solona with narrowed eyes, "Now, is that per person or per group?"

"Yeah, I was just wondering the same thing!" agreed Theron, "I mean, ten silver for five-" he was interrupted by the mabari's growl, "Uh, six people isn't that bad."

"Well…yes, I suppose. That's how we've been doing it so far." shrugged the bandit leader.

"Hmm, interesting…" pondered Aedan, "We'll have to discuss this amongst ourselves though."

"Sure, sure take your time. We'll be here when you're ready." urged the man.

They all got in a group huddle a bit away from the bandits after that, and started discussing their options.

"Well, what do you guys think? I frankly just want to move on." said Aedan.

Solona sighed, "Well, I don't want to get my clothes dirty…-er? But I could go either way seeing as they're just robbing people."

"I can't believe we're even discussing this!" Morrigan complained, "The logical choice is obviously to kill them all and loot their bodies."

Alistair's eyes widened, "Uhh, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Morrigan."

Everyone shuddered at that.

"I think we're forgetting the most important thing here," said Theron, "Do we even _have_ ten silvers?"

They looked at each other and started going through their things. Turns out they were all poor.

"Yeah…" said Alistair, "Are we going to have to do part-time in Lothering?"

Aedan sighed, "I'm afraid so."

Theron decided to step in "You're all wrong. Clearly, this requires the integrity and honesty that only a Dalish Elf can bring to the table."

He walked over to the bandits. "Friends, what happens if we refuse?"

"You die, and we get to ransack your corpses." a bandit supplied helpfully.

Theron narrowed his eyes. "Do you really want to fight the new Warden-Commander?"

The leader's eyes gleamed. "Wait, a Warden? Loghain would pay a handsome price for your head."

One of the bandits looked uneasy. "Boss, aren't the Wardens supposed to be good? Like, say, good enough to kill a king and several trained soldiers?"

"We are. As a matter of fact, I'm good enough to do all that and then kill a few bandits to follow up." Theron said with a carefree smile.

The leader gulped. "Uh, right. Forget about that then serah. Please, continue on, don't let us common folk stop you."

The leader could feel his stomach plummet as the elf's smile grew positively wicked.

"You know, we Wardens are in need of donations…."

* * *

Theron waved cheerfully at the group walking away from them, stripped down to their underwear.

"What a nice bunch of guys." he said, then moved back to where the rest of his group was still huddled.

He seemed to suddenly remember something, "Do you guys think I should tell them that there's a horde of darkspawn in that direction?"

"Nah, they'll eventually figure it out." said Aedan. "What we should figure out is how we're going to approach these treaties."

"They're the ones with the elves, dwarves, and mages right?" asked Theron as he pocketed their earnings.

"Well yeah, that's the gist of it." said Alistair, "Though I think that Arl Eamon of Redcliffe might be able to help us out."

Solona chose that moment to pull out a map of Ferelden from her bag, "We'll we're in Lothering right now, and the closest place _is_ Redcliffe."

Morrigan gave her an odd look, "Where in Andraste's name did you ever get a map?"

"Pride." answered Solona, "She packed plenty of medicinal and poisonous herbs as well, there're even some parts to make traps in here."

"I'm surprised she went through all the trouble. I suppose she liked you two well enough." said Morrigan, "In regards to the treaties though, I believe it would be wise to wait until we hear news of the goings on in Ferelden before we make any decisions. There's a tavern not far away that could prove to be quite useful in that case."

"I second that." said Theron. "We should also split up into two groups; one to ask for news and the other to find odd jobs to help out around here."

Solona raised her hand "I volunteer for the second group."

"Me too!" called Alistair, making them all turn their eyes on him "What? Haven't you ever seen a man eager to help his fellow human beings?"

"Works for me." shrugged Theron, "That means I get to go to the tavern with Aedan and Morty."

Aedan had to forcefully restrain Morrigan from attacking Theron; she just made it too easy. "We'll go on ahead then."

Theron and his group made their way through the town, it was packed with refugees and the wounded. It was a bit disheartening to Theron that most of the people here wouldn't be able to make it out of the town in time, but that just fueled his drive to end the blight as soon as possible even more.

Theron noticed a boy looking for his mother, and flipped him a silver in passing. The boy cried out in delight, and ran off to spend it. Theron's lips twitched at the sight, and he moved on, feeling a bit better.

The tavern was easy to spot, seeing as it was the only other major building in town. Theron and company walked towards it, but were halted by a man next to the door.

"You might not want to go in, tavern's full and those soldiers are making a mess." he said, irritation coloring his voice.

"Why are soldiers in the tavern? Are they acting as security for Lothering?"

The man laughed bitterly. "Loghain wouldn't spare our village a second glance. No, those soldiers are here looking for someone, though you wouldn't know it, seeing as they're spending all their time drinking the tavern dry."

"Looking for someone eh? Being the good Samaritan I am, I suppose I should ask them if I can provide assistance." Theron said, flashing an innocent smile at the man before walking in.

_**Fifteen Minutes Later**_

Several dead and unconscious soldiers flew out of the tavern. Many had bolts poking out of their bodies, some were frozen or frostbitten, and others had broken bones and cuts they were nursing. The man blinked and poked his head inside. The elf he had been chatting with before had two crossbows out and was looking decidedly unlike a good Samaritan, the woman in the odd clothing was holding a smoking staff and seemed slightly irritated, and the warrior accompanying them was apologizing profusely to the tavern owner, who was looking slightly pale.

The elf called out to the wounded soldiers outside. "Take a message to Loghain for me. The Wardens are coming for his head." The man shivered. His tone was much different from the friendly, cheerful tone he used when asking about the tavern. His voice was dark and angry, and he got the feeling that if he were on the receiving end of his glare he would likely have some laundry to do afterwards.

He decided that he should probably mind his business, lest he draw the elf's ire by gawking at him any longer.

_**Back to Theron**_

"…So the maker spoke to you." mused Theron as they exited the tavern.

"Well, kind of. It was more of a sign really." she said modestly.

Morrigan scoffed, "Did he tell you how to stop the blight then? A fat load of help he was."

Theron placed his arm on her shoulders "Aww come on Mary, don't be a spoil-sport."

"Unhand me you imbecile, before I freeze your-"

"What's that man doing there?" Aedan asked Leliana, intent on ignoring the other two.

Leliana furrowed her brows in though "I think that is the Qunari that placed himself in a cage."

"He did that to himself!?" exclaimed Theron, "How long has he been there?"

"I'm not sure." she confessed.

"Hey guys! We're back!" called Alistair as he and Solona approached them, "And we've got jobs!"

"I've got dibs on first picking!" said Theron as he moved away from an annoyed Morrigan.

Solona and Alistair paused as they saw Leliana, "What's up with the sister?"

"I'm Leliana, I shall be joining you on your quest to end the blight." she introduced herself.

"The maker spoke to her." whispered Theron, none too quietly.

"Riiight…"said Alistair, "Well here are the jobs, we can probably split up and finish these in no time."

"Eh, fine. I can take the trap making, so I'll be at the refugee camp. Marian, you're on poisons in the tavern, the barkeep asked for poisons in exchange for not charging us repairs for his tavern, since _someone_-"he shot Aedan a dirty look here "decided that we weren't in need of money. Alistair and Aedan can handle the Chantry Board requests. Leliana, can you look into the Qunari some more? I'd like to know why he's stuck in there. Solana, you should go see if the refugees need anything on the medicinal side, you're good at patching stuff up."

With that, the group split up to go do their respective tasks.

_**Two Hours Later**_

"So, did everyone finish their jobs?" Theron said, giving his group an expectant look.

They all nodded. "You wouldn't _believe_ how many things there are to kill just a bit of a walk north from here. Seriously, I'm still wondering how Aedan and I missed those huge bears and that woman's corpse." Alistair said ruefully,

"Magically appearing bears aside, most of us appear to have finished our tasks. Leliana, did you get the info we needed?"

Leliana nodded. "The Qunari was imprisoned for slaughtering a family. The attack was apparently unprovoked, and the Qunari has offered neither defense nor confession since his imprisonment." she reported.

"Hope there's more to it than that. Qunari may be some of the most skilled and disciplined warriors in Thedas, but I don't think I'd be able to trust a murderer of children to watch my back." Aedan said, looking troubled.

"Well, he's not going anywhere right now so we might as well talk to him." Alistair suggested.

Solona seemed to agree with him, "I see no problem with it."

They walked towards the cage where the Qunari was being held, "You are not one of my captors." said the Qunari as they approached his cage, "I will not amuse you any more than I have the other humans. Leave me in peace."

"How do you know we weren't just passing through?" asked Theron, "Maybe I had a rock in my boot that I just had to remove right now."

"An unlikely story." The Qunari stated. "One does not pass by a prisoner's cage due to a minor inconvenience."

"What's your name?" Solona inquired.

"I am Sten of the Beresaad-the vanguard-of the Qunari peoples."

"Well I'm Theron, Warden-Constable." said the Dalish elf.

"Solona, Warden/Mage."

"Aedan, Warden."

"Alistair, Warden."

"Leliana, Bard."

"And Monica, witch of the wilds." finished Theron for said witch.

They heard a growl emitting from their canine companion, "Oh yeah! That's Aedan's Mabari, Corvus. I actually have my halla somewhere around here, his name's Kyne."

Sten seemed to be genuinely surprised by their friendliness. "You mock me. Or you show manners I have not come to expect in your lands. Though it matters little now, I will die soon enough."

"This is a proud and powerful creature, trapped as prey for the darkspawn." said Morrigan, "If you cannot see a use for him, I suggest releasing him for mercy's sake alone."

"Mercy? I wouldn't have expected that from you." mumbled Alistair.

Morrigan shot him a glare, "I would also suggest that Alistair take his place in the cage."

Theron motioned to high-five her but she remained with her hands crossed, "Are you still sore about me calling you by the wrong name? I'm sorry Margaret, I won't do it again. I promise."

"I suggest you leave me to my fate." said Sten.

"What did you do to end up here?" asked Aedan, "We have heard that you murdered a whole family-children and all- but it seems highly uncharacteristic of a Qunari to do so."

"It is as they say," answered the Qunari stoically. "I murdered the people of a farm hold. Eight humans in addition to the children. "

Solona's eyes widened "That's horrible."

"I agree." said Sten.

"Are you guilty?" asked Alistair.

"Are you asking if I feel guilt or if I am responsible for the deed?" he asked in return, "However I feel, whatever I've done, my life is forfeit now."

Leliana looked at him in confusion. "Aren't you seeking atonement?"

"Death shall be my atonement."

"Well you could do that…" said Theron, "Or you could redeem yourself in another way."

"Perhaps. What does your wisdom say is equal to my crime, elf?" asked Sten.

Theron grinned at him, "Well, what do you think about helping the Grey Wardens slay the Archdemon?"

"That sounds…appealing."

"Great! Now all we have to do is get figure out how to get him out of the cage." said Alistair sarcastically.

"The Reverend Mother should have the key." put in Leliana.

"Yeah," said Theron, "But she'll also ask for tithe. Something we can't afford to spend money on since _someone,_" Aedan sweat-dropped at the pointed look he got from the elf, "decided we didn't need it."

"To be left here to starve, or to be taken by the darkspawn…no one deserves that, not even a murderer." Leliana lamented, "Perhaps we cannot receive aid from the Reverend Mother, but I can pick the lock of the cage to free him."

Theron smirked. "Well then, it looks like we've got ourselves a Qunari."

* * *

**A/N: **Man, this chapter was a drag to write. I think it did turn out nicely though, for a Lothering chapter that is.


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